As the title says. A thread for examples of awesome acting. Random - can be a shit show with that one stunning performance, a movie from fifteen years ago, a youtube clip of amateur theatre. Whatever - but an example of the art of acting at its best.

I started the thread because I just saw a youtube clip from a programme aired on Channel 4, about 7 years ago. I didn't watch it at the time - I only happened upon it because I was trying to find clips of Ripper Street, which stars Matthew MacFayden as Inspector Reid (the actor who played Mr Darcy as he is probably better known).

The programme was part of a series of dramas; each one [i]The Secret Life of a....', with a new subject each time. Matthew MacFayden was the lead in The Secret Life of a Child Sex Offender

I watched part 1 - wow. I will watch the rest after I finish work for the day.

It was inspired by the closure in 2002, of the last secure residential treatment centre for convicted paedophiles in the uk. it had been open for 7 years but was shut down because of vehement local protest at its placement within the community.

MacFayden's performance is brilliant. And what a brave choice of role.

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There's only so much punishment a man can take in pursuit of punani. - Sundae

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I finally got around to watching a film I've had on my Must See list for several years: Jumping off Bridges. It's full of excellent performances - alas there really aren't many clips available to demonstrate that.

The story centres on a teenaged boy, his small group of friends and his family.

His mum is suffering from depression and some sort of PTSD, with the Dad and two sons trying to cope with her illness and then suicide - we learn that they'd lost one of their three children 8 years earlier.

Most of the film follows the fallout from the mother's suicide, including how the lad's close group of friends and girlfriend cope with his grief and withdrawal.

It's a wonderful little film. Raw and real.

The young actors all do a great job, and the film is really a coming of age film. But for me the star of the show is the father, Michael Emerson. His performance as the husband trying to cope first with his wife's depression, and then his son's and his own grief, while keeping the family together and doing all the normal stuff of going to work and parenting, was incredibly moving.

The title comes from the ritualised little hobby the boy shares with his best friend from early childhood, and into which the girls are then drawn: photographing bridges and then jumping from them into the water late at night.

Like i say, not much in the way of clips.

Trailer for the movie:

Only a couple of other vids available - one is a montage of clips, with the music from the film playing over them - you get a sense of the feel of the movie. Judging by the clip title it's put together by an Emerson fan :p Worth watching, as the song is wonderful.

The only actual clip I could find is this one. It's a very small snippet from a much longer scene. The whole scene is brilliant - it is quite a long scene and the pitch shifts a lot throughout. Both Emerson and the young Chafin do an amazing job.

All the actors do a brilliant job in this film. It's full of scenes that just blew me away. Often some of the quieter, less pointed scenes. These are teenagers I recognise as teenagers - with one foot in the grown-up world and one still in childhood. And the mum's depression at the start of the film is beautifully portrayed - as is the impact of that radiating out into the family.

Obviously, for any dwellar there is an added poignancy - and it gave me pause before pressing play. But I'm glad I did.

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There's only so much punishment a man can take in pursuit of punani. - Sundae

I watched this some time ago, before I embarked on my Lostathon, after POI and Jumping off Bridges got me interested in Michael Emerson. It's an interview/Q&A he did for the 2010 New York Television Festival as part of a series of talks with various industry people about the process of creating television. Most of the speakers at these events are writers, producers, directors and so on - it's rare they get an actor to talk in-depth about working in tv and creating characters for tv.

It's a fascinating insight into the industry - and into the craft of acting - and he is a really engaging speaker.

The link above is the NYTVF own stream - it shows the full interview (by the festival director) it's also a much better quality and is filmed from a much better angle than the cut down version that is on Youtube (most of the interview is missing, coming in really just for the Q&A and it's filmed from somewhere in the audience).

I highly recommend watching the full interview - the interviewer asks great questions and Emerson gives a lot of technical insight into acting for the camera versus acting for the stage, how to create particular kinds of on-screen tension and the relationship between the writer, the actor and the audience. It's also very funny in places.

But for those who just want a quick peek without following link:

This cuts in to the last question of the interview, which was about his recent work on Lost and the massive reach of the show at the time. After that it gets to the audience Q&A - bless the poor fellow asking the first question - he is crippled with nerves :p

Best question in this section is around 7 mins in - it's a much more industry-focused question about working as a guest actor in tv shows

Part 1:

Part 2:

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Quote:

There's only so much punishment a man can take in pursuit of punani. - Sundae

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

I am awful at identifying good acting. Given my non-tv status, I only make an effort when I know the actors involved. And my tastes run to comedy acting. That said, I think people denigrate comedy acting unfairly. It's real (if sometimes grotesque) and it requires precision timing and nuances as well as "selling" a character.

Me being me, I would offer Mark Gatiss playing Owen Fallowfield. A stand out in a series peopled with larger than life characters and prosthetics. Straight to camera and very chilling. He plays a mortician for whom some lines of propriety have become... blurred.
TLoG always skated close to the edge in comedy terms, but this performance was delivered so straight. It was Alan Bennett with a twist of formaldehyde.

Along the same lines I have to give Matthew Kelly props for his equally chilling Brian Wicklow (a serial killer) in In Cold Blood. Such a remove from his usual TV hosting persona.

Can't find clips for either, sorry.

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The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit. The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the plot is based on Grimethorpe's own struggles against pit closures. It is generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music. Parts of the film make reference to the huge increase in suicides that resulted from the end of the coal industry in Britain, and the struggle to retain hope in the circumstances.

Both actors do a great job. The way they're bouncing off each other in their performance is electric. I love Cranston's performance in this scene. When you think of how the character started, that Cranston was able to believably portray such a metamorphosis is mindblowing. I like that moment of hesitation as he realises he maybe shouldn't have said that last part and the stillness of her shock.

Harold Finch: 'The Rules'

Major spoiler for final season Person of Interest

I love the economy of Emerson's performance here, and the intensity of the scene.

In both of these clips the writing is beautiful, and the actors make the most of what they're given to play with.

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Quote:

There's only so much punishment a man can take in pursuit of punani. - Sundae